The Milwaukee Bucks aren't expected to beat the Miami Heat in the playoffs.The players can't come out and say it, but they know the defending champions are in another class.

The Bucks, however, are expected to put up a fight. The cupboard isn't bare for Milwaukee; they have a few talented pieces. That talent, combined with low expectations, makes them a very dangerous team with nothing to lose. 

But there are steps that need to be taken before any talks of a playoff miracle, or even a valiant effort, can take place. The Bucks are 3-7 in their last 10 games and looking more like a lottery team than a team headed for the playoffs. Milwaukee will finish the season with a record below .500.

The Bucks are not playing well and the players know it.

"We need to play better basketball; we're not very good right now,” J.J. Redick said. "That's pretty obvious. We don't play consistently on either side of the ball. A lot of it is just cleaning some stuff up because the talent is there."

Redick isn't the only player that's dissatisfied with the way the team is playing. Backing into the postseason is a recipe for embarrassment. But there is an understanding that the play must improve and a commitment to stay together while the team figures things out.

"No, I'm not happy with how we're playing because we're losing," Monta Ellis said. "But we have to stay positive, think about the road ahead of us and try to finish the season off on the right note so we can enter the playoffs with a great mind set."

For Ellis, starting the process is simple and staying together is a top priority.

"We just need to stay together and try to figure out a way to turn it around in the last few games," he said.

Effort and energy will also be a priority for the Bucks. It's one of the things that the players can control every night. Despite a few disappointing losses, the effort has been something that Bucks' head coach Jim Boylan has been satisfied with. The coach plans to build from the team's effort and hopes to finish the season strong.

"We're going to keep at it," Boylan said. "I liked the effort against Orlando; our guys played really, really hard. As long as we do that good things will happen for us. We still have some games left in the season. We have Charlotte, Denver at home and OKC. We're going to go up to Atlanta and play hard."